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Zeiss ZF.2 Cine-Mod Set

This post is a little self serving in that I’m touting a product that Duclos Lenses sells. However, I love the product and use the product myself on a daily basis. The product I speak of is the Zeiss ZF.2 lenses. I have raved about these lenses ever since I started using them years ago on my Nikon DSLR. I’ve had several posts detailing their use in the motion picture industry and the modifications that make them cinema work horses. Duclos Lenses has been modifying and selling the Zeiss ZF.2 lenses as an official Zeiss distributor for several years now. Zeiss announced that they would be offering a set of five lenses at a reduced price which included a swanky custom foamed transportation case. I thought the idea was great. That is, until we ordered a few and realized that the lenses offered in the set were not the lenses I personally thought performed the best. On top of that, after our Cine-Mods, the lens barrels were expanded to at least 80mm due to the additional front ring and focus gear, the lenses didn’t fit in the case. So we thought, why not make our own set and offer a similar discount. We hand-picked the particular lenses to include in the set, mostly for their overall quality and range from wide to tele.

The set includes a 21mm f/2.8, 28mm f/2.0, 35mm f/1.4, 50mm f/2.0 macro, and of course, the gorgeous 85mm f/1.4. Between these five lenses, 21mm-85mm, just about every shot is covered. The set comes in our own custom foamed flight case, a Pelican Storm iM2600 to be specific, foamed by the fine folks at Innerspace Cases (the same guys who do the RED cases). Each lens is hand selected and features our complete Cine-Mod including a standard 32-pitch focus gear, 80mm front with 77mm filter thread, and of course, a de-clicked, buttery smooth aperture ring. I love this set! It’s every focal length I would want in a portable set of primes. I think the Zeiss ZF.2 lenses appeal to a wide range of cinematographers due to their light-weight, budget conscious nature. On top of that, their image quality is excellent for the price and the image size the lenses produce covers anything from a micro four thirds AF100 to a RED Epic, and all the way up to the 35mm full frame sensor of the 5D MkII. Like I said, this post is a little self serving, but I really do enjoy using these lenses. For more information head on over to www.DuclosLenses.com

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Matthew Duclos

A connoisseur of fine motion picture lenses, Matthew has spent over half his life servicing, refining, selling, manufacturing, and collecting cinema lenses from around the world. Chief Operating Officer of Duclos Lenses and Founder of TheCineLens.com, Matthew has been contributing to the motion picture industry for over 15 years, and to this site for over 5 years.
View all posts by Matthew Duclos

We found that the overall image quality produced by the 50mm f/2.0 Macro lens was more favorable than that of the f/1.4 version. The macro version is also larger and easier to work with on small, portable rigs.

Yep, after going to the projector and seeing the image on the screen with your dad… BAM! the 50mm f/2.0 Macro was sharp corner to corner. Probably the best part of heading over to Duclos is the personal service I received last April. I jetted that way when Zeiss released their 5 piece kit, looking to buy it and have it cine-modded. I came out with, well everything above exempt the 28mm and the case. OK, my wife was standing there behind me wondering how much she was going to spend on my birthday. All in all, the set kicks butt! Research goes only so far. Duclos goes a step further with not only the knowledge and experience, but also provides that personal touch by taking their time with the customer and giving exceptional service.
Thanks Duclos! Good call on your set!

I’m interested in these with Nikon mounts but, on the Sony F3, there is a crop factor, correct? Making the 21mm something like a 30mm? I have several Nikkors I’m using now on my F3 which, I would love to have cine-mod’d, Matthew but, some of them have slipping focus rings and my 105mm 1.8 is smooth focusing but, very stiff. While performing the cine mods, do you fix other problems the lenses might have? One other question if I may… I have a number of 645 and 6×7 Pentax lenses. They are super sharp and seem to be of very high quality. Could they be modified for cinema work? Thank you!

Matthew
Im interested in purchasing the zf.2 cine mod set. I already have the 85mm, that is not cine modified. Could I send that in to get modified, and what would the overall cost then be?Luke@lukecormack.com